Here are large excerpts from Pope Pius XI's encyclical letter, Rerum Omnium Perturbationem (the disorders with which the world today struggles), dated January 26, 1923, on the third centenary of the death of St. Francis de Sales.
If every individual would resolve faithfully to live up to his obligations, a great social improvement would be realized almost immediately. Such an improvement is precisely the objective of the teachings and ministry of the Church, for her special mission is to instruct mankind by the preaching of truths which have been divinely revealed and to sanctify them by means of the grace of God. By the use of these methods she hopes to call back civil society to ways conformable to the spirit of Christ which once upon a time we followed.
This work of sanctification is of the very genius of the Church, since she was made by Christ, her Founder, not only holy herself but the source of holiness in others. All who accept the guidance of her ministry should, by the command of God, do everything in their power to sanctify their own lives. As St. Paul says, "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (I Thess 4:3). Christ Himself has taught what this sanctification consists in: "Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).
We cannot accept the belief that this command of Christ concerns only a select and privileged group of souls and that all others may consider themselves pleasing to Him if they have attained a lower degree of holiness. Quite the contrary is true, as appears from the very generality of His words. The law of holiness embraces all men and admits no exception. The great number of souls of every condition in life, both young and old, who as history informs us have reached the zenith of Christian perfection, these saints felt in themselves the weaknesses of human nature and had to conquer the same temptations as we. So true is this that as St. Augustine has so beautifully written, "God does not ask the impossible of us. But when He does order us to do something He, by His very commands, admonishes us to do that which we are able to do and to ask from Him for assistance in that which we are not of ourselves able to do" (de Natura et Gratia, Chap. 43, No. 50).
We are now happily called upon to celebrate the Third Centenary of the entrance into heaven of another great saint, one who was remarkable not only for the sublime holiness of life which he achieved but also for the wisdom with which he directed souls in the ways of sanctity. This saint was no less a person than Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Universal Church.
It appears that Francis de Sales was given to the Church by God for a very special mission. His task was to give the lie to a prejudice which in his lifetime was deeply rooted and has not been destroyed even today, that the ideal of genuine sanctity held up for our imitation by the Church is impossible of attainment or, at best, is so difficult that it surpasses the capabilities of the great majority of the faithful and is, therefore, to be thought of as the exclusive possession of a few great souls. St. Francis likewise disproved the false idea that holiness was so hedged around by annoyances and hardships that it is not adaptable to a life lived outside cloister walls.
Whoever attentively reviews the life of St. Francis will discover that, from his earliest years, he was a model of sanctity. He was not a gloomy, austere saint but was most amiable and friendly with all, so much so that it can be said of him most truthfully, "her conversation (wisdom) hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness" (Wisdom 8:16).
Endowed with every virtue, he excelled in the meekness of heart, a virtue so peculiar to himself that it might be considered his most characteristic trait. His meekness, however, differed altogether from that artificial gentility which consists in the mere possession of polished manners and in the display of a purely conventional affability. It differed, too, both from the apathy which cannot be moved by any force and from the timidity which does not dare to become indignant, even when indignation is required of one.
This virtue, which grew in the heart of St. Francis as a delightful effect of his love of God and was nourished by the spirit of compassion and tenderness, so tempered with sweetness the natural gravity of his demeanor, and softened both his voice and manners, that he won the affectionate regard of everyone whom he encountered. No less well known are the ease and amiability with which he received everyone. Sinners and apostates especially flocked to his house in order, with his help, to become reconciled to God and to amend their lives. He was most partial to unfortunate prisoners whom he, by a hundred artifacts of charity, sought to console during his frequent visits to the prisons. He likewise showed great kindness to his own servants, whose sloth and gaucheries he bore with heroic patience.
His zeal was so great that during the first year of his priesthood, he attempted, despite the opposition of his own father, to reconcile the people of La Chablais to the Church. In this he was gladly seconded by Granier, the Bishop of Geneva. To accomplish this work, he refused no duty whatsoever; he fled no danger, not even that of possible death. His imperturbable kindness stood him in better stead in effecting the conversion of so many thousands of people than even the broad learning and wonderful eloquence which characterized his performance of the many duties of the sacred ministry.
He was accustomed to repeat to himself, as a source of inspiration, that well known phrase, "Apostles battle by their sufferings and triumph only in death." It is almost unbelievable with what vigor and constancy he defended the cause of Jesus Christ among the people of La Chablais.
In order to bring them the light of faith and the comforts of the Christian religion, he was known to have traveled through deep valleys and to have climbed steep mountains. If they fled him, he pursued, calling after them loudly. Repulsed brutally, he never gave up the struggle; when threatened he only renewed his efforts. He was often put out of lodgings, at which times he passed the night asleep on the snow under the canopy of heaven. He would celebrate Mass though no one would attend. When, during a sermon, almost the entire audience one after another left the Church, he would continue preaching. At no time did he ever lose his mental poise or his spirit of kindness toward these ungrateful hearers. It was by such means as these that he finally overcame the resistance of his most formidable adversaries.
One would err, however, if he imagined that such a character as St. Francis de Sales possessed was a gift of nature, bestowed on him by the grace of God "with the blessing of meekness," as we so often read to have been the case of other blessed souls. On the contrary, Francis naturally was hot-tempered and easily aroused to anger. Since he had vowed to take as his model Jesus who has said, "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart" (Matt 9:29) so, by means of constant watchfulness over himself and of violence to his own will, he succeeded in learning how to curb and to control to such an extent the promptings of nature that he became a living likeness of the God of Peace and Meekness.
This fact is proven amply by the testimony of the physicians who prepared his body for burial for when, as we read, they embalmed the body, they found his bile turned into stone which had been broken up into the smallest imaginable particles. They knew from this strange occurrence what terrible efforts it must have cost our Saint, over a period of fifty years, to conquer his naturally irritable temper.
The meekness of St. Francis was therefore an effect of his tremendous will power, constantly strengthened by his lively faith and the fires of divine love which burned within him. Certainly, to him we can apply the words of Holy Scripture, "Out of the strong came forth sweetness" (Judges 14:14). Is it any wonder, then, that this "pastoral kindliness", which he possessed and which, according to St. John Chrysostom "is more violent than virtue" (Homily 58 on Genesis), possessed the power to attract hearts in that very measure of success which Christ Himself has promised to the meek, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land" (Matt. 5:4).
In the Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis, after showing clearly how hardness of heart discourages one in the practice of virtue and is altogether foreign to genuine piety (he does not strip piety of that severity which is in harmony with the Christian manner of life) then sets himself expressly to prove that holiness is perfectly possible in every state and condition of secular life, and to show how each man can live in the world in such a manner as to save his own soul, provided only he keeps himself free from the spirit of the world.
After having pointed out how we must flee sin, fight against our evil inclinations, and avoid all useless and harmful actions, he then goes on expounding the nature of those practices of piety which cause the soul to grow, as well as how it is possible for man to remain ever united to God.
Following this, he shows how necessary it is to select out a special virtue for constant practice on our part until we can say that we have mastered it.
Finally, he teaches us how not only to conquer dangers, temptations, and the allurements of pleasure, but how every year it is necessary for each of us to renew and to rekindle his love of God by the making of holy resolutions.
Pius XI
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